Safety device for scaffold workmen.



F. A. VOIGT.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR SGAFFOLD WORKMBN.

APPLIGATION FILED OCT. 3, 1914.

1,127,832. Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

FREDERICK A. VOIG-T, 0F GHICAGU, ILLINGIS.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR SCAFFOLI) W'ORKMEN.

menses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

Application filed October 3, 1914. Serial No. 864,804.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK A. VOIGT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety Devices for Scaffold l/Verkmen, of which the following is a 7 per end of the section 8 extends a lip 10 specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a device for safeguarding workmen on scaffolds, such as are hung by ropes from the roofs of buildings undergoing painting, re- 7 pairs and the like.

A scaffold of the kind referred to is usually suspended at its ends by ropes hooked 7 on the roof, and it is common practice to hang, in the same way, guide-ropes, one for each workman on thestage to hang across the latter. The workman is supposed to keep hold of the guide-rope with one hand while performing his work with the other, so that if the scaffold should fall he may save himself by clinging to and sliding down' the guide-rope. As experience shows, however, workmen frequently neglect to observe this precaution, with the result that they frequently incur accidents through falling of the scaffolds.

My safeguarding device is flexibly hung on a belt to encircle the workmans body, and it involves, generally described, a clencher-tube to loosely surround the guiderope and enable it to slip readily along the latter and thus avoidhampering the movements of the Workman on the scaffold stage or platform, the tube being adapted to antomatically grip the guide-rope in the event of the workman falling with or off the scaffold and hold him securely until he can right himself to slide down the rope to safety.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 the clencher-tube thereon for surrounding the guide-rope; Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation showing the tube in its preferred form; Fig. 8 is a section on' line 3, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4c, Fig. 3, representing the: cleneher-tube on the guiderope, shown dotted, and Fig. '5 is a view of the clencher-tube in rearelevation.

The belt 5, of leather, or other suitable material, is shown to be adapted to be buckled about the body, as the waist, of the user of the device. It carries a flexible hanger, shown as a ring 6, from which depends loosely a snap-hook 7. The clencher-tube 8,

which may be cast of metal, is preferably formed of two semi-cylindrical sections 8 and 8 hinged together to adapt them to be opened and closed, one section carrying, m dway between its ends, a rigid catch 9 and the other a spring-pressed hook 9 for releasably engaging the catch. On the upcontaining an opening 10 at which to engage the snaphook. In thefopposite end of the same tube-section is provided an upwardly tapering recess 11, about which the edge is rolled, as represented at 12, and in the upper end of the section 8 is formed, thus diagonally opposite the recess 11, a similar recess 11 provided with a rolled edge 12.

The user straps the belt about his waist, whenthe clencherv-tube hangs as represented in Fig. 1. After mounting the stage of a suspended scaffold, he opens the tube on its hinges and closes it about the usual hanging guide-rope forming part of a scaffold-equipment and represented at 13, in which condition the hook and catchfasten the sections together. The diameter of the rope being considerably less than that .of the clencher- Should the scaffold drop, as by breaking or unfastening of the suspending ropes on either or both ends, the simultaneous dropping of the workmans body will tilt the tube 8 upwardly and cause it to engage the guide-rope at the diagonally opposite recesses 11 and 11 and turn the intermediate rope-section at an angle to its length, thereby firmly clenching the rope and by thus preventing the tube from sliding down the latter hold the weight ofthe body of the workman, who may then grab the rope in his hands to right himself and simultaneously right the tube and let himself down, hand over hand, to the ground or other alighting point.

The turned or rolled edges 12 present rounded surfaces to the rope 13 to avoid engaging therewith sharp edges of the tube in its movements along the rope and present to the latter rounded edges to facilitate those movements. c,

I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details of construction thus specifically shown and described,'and I do not intend by illustrating a single specific or preferred embodiment of my invention to be limited thereto; my intention being in the appended claims to claim protection upon all'the novelty there may be in my invention as broadly as the state of the art Will permit.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l0 1. In a safety device of the character described, a clencher-tube to surround the guide-rope in a scaffold equipment, having recesses diagonally opposite each other in its opposite ends to engage and clench the rope.

In a safety device of the character de scribed, aclencher-tube to surround the guide-rope in ascaffold equipment, said tube being formed of tube-sections hinged together and provided with fastening means at their opening and closing edges, and said sections having recesses respectively in their upper and lower ends, diagonally opposite each other, to engage and clench the rope.

3. In a safety device of the character described, a clencher-tube to surround the guide-rope in a scaffold equipment, having recesses diagonally opposite each other in its opposite ends to engage and clench the 0 rope and provided with rolled edges about the recesses.

4. A safety device of the character described comprising, in combination, a belt,

a a flexible depending hanger on the belt, and

' a clencher tube suspended on the hanger to surround the guide-rope'in a scaffold equipment and having recesses diagonally opposite each other in its opposite ends to engage and clench'the rope.

5. A safety device of the character de 43 scribed, comprising, in combination, a belt,

a flexible depending hanger on the belt and aclencher-tube to surround the guide-rope in a scaffold equipment, said tube being releasably suspended on the hanger and 5 formed of tube-sections hinged together and provided with fastening means at their opening and closing edges, the tube-sections being provided respectively on their'upper and lower ends with clenching means op- 5.0 erating, by turning the tube from its normal pendent position, to clenchingly engage said rope.

6. A safety device of the character described, comprising, in combination, a belt, a flexible depending hanger on the belt, and a clencher-tube to surround the guide-rope in a scaffold equipment, said tube being formed of tube-sections hinged together and provided with fastening means at their to opening and closing edges, said sections having recesses respectively in the upper and lower ends, diagonally opposite each other, to engage and clench the rope, and one of said sections having a perforated lip on its upper end for connection of the tube with said hanger.

r FREDERICK A. VOIGT.

In presence of r L. HEISLAR,

A. C. FISCHER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

washington l). C. 

